Further progression on the level design has been made with extended platforms and more puzzle aspects when the right blueprints have been made (i.g, moving platforms, Saw chains that can inflict damage/or and become an obstacle of your path etc. ) When you start the game you start from a beach like platform, without the hammer, the objective to help clear a path from fallen rocks as no one else (the NPC’s of the said level) is able to travel past the obstacles successfully and pull the hammer from the stone. My original concept behind mg level design (see last post for level design No.1) was to keep the level elevating forwards rather then to the side, as I felt with some top down games, when the camera is so close to the actor this can make the player feel lost in direction unless stated/hinted otherwise. So to keep the freedom I’ve kept the level design consistent of going foward (following a path from left to right) until you have to venture back through a path in which your obtained hammer from the highest platform is able to break through the obstacles, then allowing you to have the power to break through all the barrels left ashore on the beach and the town. The puzzles work around the physics and mechanic of the player, for example jumping onto moving platforms, avoiding moving obstacles that will move you/damage you and a maze like level design in which you have to follow the flowers/ small mushrooms to the other end. It was difficult trying to design my top down level in the early stages as I was unsure of what type of level puzzles I wanted to include, it wasn’t until it started building in the engine that it started to come together. I had some trouble during the process of starting to build the level design, as when I obtained the assets through many ways (harddrive, one drive etc) my Engine from my home PC wouldn’t allow me to start a new project and add all the Hammer girl essentials, so this delayed my ability to build my platform to test run my blueprints until I had to re-build from the Test Project. I wanted to make the project more personal to me by making the NPC’s dialogue as close to ‘scouse’ slang as possible. If I wanted to add more complex blueprints into my project, I would make so when the player has obtained the hammer , when you venture back to the town, Some of the NPC’s will chase you out the level (top end of the level) for the idea that they want to take the Axe from you, however they are not able to jump ontop of the platforms as you can. (A woman at the Witches house at the top end would chase you to the floating platforms which would then extend to the next level.)
